


Basic Parental Instinct

by itslikegodspilledaperson



Series: The Edison/Winger Chronicles [5]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-03-25 05:51:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3799135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itslikegodspilledaperson/pseuds/itslikegodspilledaperson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I mean, if the title doesn't give it away then i don't know what else will...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sick Day

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea what a pregnancy is like since i myself have never had a pregnant spouse of any kind. so this is guesswork at best. 
> 
> These fics are basically my way of coping with the writers evading J/A with tactical proficiency, so if i can create one or two to help someone else get over J/A negligence then all the better.

Jeff stood at the bathroom door, knocking. He could hear the fan going and could see the light shining out from underneath the door. 

“Honey? Are you okay in there?” 

Just ten minutes ago, he had been scrolling through Facebook, casually reading some article about Net Neutrality that Duncan had posted. He was sipping on a glass of wine that Annie had bought yesterday. The rich, mouthwatering smell of leftover pork still filled the post-dinner air. He had heated dinner, which meant Annie was on dish duty. It was a simple system, and one that insured no stupid fights arose. Of course, it was Annie’s idea. The good ideas always were. She had approached the first year of their marriage the same way she approached everything; efficiently. Together they were a well-oiled machine. He didn’t mean that they had settled into a dull sort of routine or anything; there was never a dull moment with Annie. She could read him a flight manual in monotone and he would just sit there admiring the way she told him what to do in the case of a change in cabin pressure. 

Last month, on a random Wednesday she had called him in between classes saying to come back to his office before going to lunch. He walked in to find a blanket sprawled across the floor of his usually cold and lifeless office, with a picnic basket in the corner. She sat at one end eating a sandwich, wearing her lab jacket, blouse, and slacks, somehow grinning at him with her whole face despite the chewing. In the basket was a brown paper bag: On it was a stapled note, “forgetting something?” It read. He had left in a rush and forgotten his lunch. She could have easily just dropped it off, yet she did this. Every time he thought he could not possibly love her any more than he already did, she proved him wrong. 

But back to the bathroom door and the preceding events. The first half of today had gone pretty normal. He woke up at 5 to go for a quick empty stomach run, got back to the apartment at around 5:30 where he went to the 1st floor gym for a quick ab workout, and made it back upstairs by 5:45. By then Annie was up and making a breakfast of some sort. By around 6 he was out and dressed, where coffee and eggs were waiting. He ate, made their lunches, kissed her goodbye, gave her a playful ass pinch to see if it could get a rise out of her, (she half scoffed, half giggled and smacked his shoulder lightly), and left for school at around 7. He used to carpool with Pelton, but the Dean had moved. Apparently Annie marrying the love of his life had been a bit too much for his Deany tiny heart to handle. Jeff taught 4 classes on Thursdays, an hour and 15 minutes apiece. He’d get home around 6, usually about 15 minutes or so before her. But today when he walked in, she was already there much to his surprise, lying on the couch with her feet propped up on the armrest. He walked over to her, the situation oddly reminiscent of the time she had a tantrum during the model UN. 

“Babe? Everything okay?” He asked, brows furrowed as he ran over possibilities for why she was home so early. 

“Hmphmhphnhpnhmpphmphhmph” She said, voice muffled from the pillow. 

He stifled a laugh as he grabbed it by one corner and lifted it slowly off of her face; 

“You wanna try that in English this time?”

She looked up at him through big blue eyes filled with discomfort. How did that make her look cuter? 

“I wasn’t feeling good at work so I took a sick day and came home after lunch.”

“Sick day? You never take those…what’s wrong?” 

She looked absolutely miserable. 

“I know I don’t, I haven’t missed a day of class or work since my high school meltdown. And I don’t know, I’ve just been feeling really nauseous and lightheaded and such. I kinda went…up and over, if you know what I mean.” 

He did. 

He leaned over the couch, propping himself up on the backrest with one elbow while his other hand moved up and down her shoulder. 

“All records gotta come to an end at some time. Hell, even Cal Ripken Jr. missed a game eventually.” 

She looked up at him in confusion. 

“It’s a sports reference.” Her mouth made an “oh” shaped hole as she nodded slowly, now understanding why it had gone over her head. 

“You probably shouldn’t touch me if I’m sick,” she motioned to his arm. He pulled back. 

He laughed to himself. “Then you being sick may be tougher on me than it is on you”, he said as he dodged the incoming pillow meant for his face. 

“WHAT??” He teased. “I’m saying you look too beautiful to be left alone!”

“But I’m a mess…I look like a backup dancer in a Missy Elliot video, only my hair isn’t amazing and my sweats aren’t color coordinated.”

He kissed his hand and put it on her cheek.

“You say that as if it changes anything…” He had a joking tone but the words were serious. She could look beautiful in a burlap sack. 

She’d looked in pretty bad shape ever since he lifted the pillow off of her, but the compliment did enough to warrant a tired smile. 

“Thanks sweetie,” she said warmly as her hand moves to the one he’s got on her cheek. 

“I’m gonna let you get some rest, so yell if you need me. I’ll be watching Netflix in the bedroom.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

He walked to the room, but not before picking up the pillow that just a minute ago was a projectile and returned it to sender. She grabbed it and thanked him. 

“And you BETTER not be watching a new House of Cards without me”, she shouted after him as he walked towards the room once more. 

“I’m not! Don’t worry!”

Dammit. 

For dinner they had just had leftovers since Annie still didn’t feel very good. The nap, she said, had helped a bit but she was still feeling very under the weather. So, he had microwaved pork from last weekend, and made her some tomato soup. 

“Why don’t you go to bed? I can bring it to you,” he insisted. But Annie was Annie. If she wanted to eat at the table, you knew damn well where she was gonna eat. 

“I’m not gonna let some stupid bug get the best of me” she had countered. The same went for after dinner. He offered to do the dishes, but she once again was not having it. 

“No, no you made me dinner.”

“It’s Tomato soup, the directions are literally to pour into a bowl and microwave for a minute.”

“Yeah but it’s still more than what I did. Plus, a light dinner means light dishes, I can handle it. And if I can’t I’ll be sure to call for backup,” she reassured him. He pulls her in and kisses her forehead.

“I thought we said no kissing while I was sick?” 

“No, YOU said no kissing while you were sick. I begrudgingly agreed.” 

“But what if you get sick too?”

“I’ll risk it.”

She wrapped her hands around him and buried her face into him. “You’re the best.” 

“Aren’t I?” He quipped. 

“Oh, stop,” she retorted playfully. “If that Winger ego gets any bigger, we’re going to need a house because the apartment isn’t going to be enough to hold it.”

Her hand drops below his beltline and she pinches, causing him to jerk slightly.

“What was that for??” 

“Payback,” she whispers. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I hear some dishes calling my name.”

“Dishes can’t talk, they’re inanimate objects.”

“Shut up.”

He’d gone onto his laptop with his wine to check his faculty email, and inevitably ended up on Facebook. A few minutes ago she had stopped cleaning and whisked herself to the bathroom without saying a word. Unmistakable, and unrepeatable sounds came from inside. Give her some space, he thought. Best to give her a few minutes. Instead, he got up and finished her dishes. She couldn’t protest if she wasn’t there, he figured. 

By the time he had finished, the sick noises coming from the bathroom had subsided. She was still in there, though. It was kind of odd how she had been acting today. Yeah, she was sick. But according to her she had no temperature. It could have been food poisoning, he thought. But she had been really weird at dinner too. She had eaten all of her soup, and very quickly too. Or drank all of her soup. Or whatever the hell you do with soup. People with food poisoning usually don’t do that, at least not that he knew of. He looked over at the glass of wine sitting by where her table setting was. It was just as full as it was when he poured it for her. And her face had scrunched up when he had walked past her with his food. 

“Something smells gross”, she had observed. He didn’t smell it. And it was the same pork they’d had a few days ago. She didn’t smell anything when they’d had the pork the first time... 

His eyes widened as it hit him, like the derailed freight train hitting Leo DiCaprio’s car in Inception. 

“Honey, I’m coming in,” he said as he burst through the door, arms shielding his face from possibly seeing unspeakable things. “Where are you? Marco? Marco! Can somebody please say polo?”

“Jeff, you can open your eyes”, she assured him. He slowly lowered his forearm, coming face to face with his wife in the middle of the bathroom. She was standing there; eyes wide open with the slightest of smiles sewn across her face. She clenched a tiny object in her two hands, pressing it against her chest. He couldn’t tell what it is, but he had a good guess.

“We’re having a baby, aren’t we?”

The grin got wider, and he could feel one creeping across his face as well. She nodded, tears streaming down her face as they embraced. He picked her up and spun her around, and she laughed and begged him to put her down. He obliged, but not before hugging her again. He had some tears to match hers now, as he slid down to her stomach, lifting up her shirt slightly and kissing what he hoped was the spot where her baby was. And even if it wasn't, whatever. It was a symbolic gesture anyways. She grabbed his head, tilting his chin up to her. He looked up at Annie, smiling and looking down at him admiringly. 

“Every time I think big bad Jeff Winger can’t possibly get any softer, he proves me wrong.”

He smiled up at her. “There’s a little you in there, you know that right?”

“Actually technically, there’s a little both of us in there.”

“Hopefully more you than me. As long as he or she has my abs…”

“Ugh!” She said as she playfully hits him. 

“C’mon,” he said as he stands back up. “With my abs, and your…everything else, this baby will be unstoppable.”

“Would you love it if it wasn’t?”

“Of course.” He cupped the back of her head with his hand and pulled her in, nestling it into his shoulder. 

“But if it gets my big forehead, all bets are off”


	2. 7 months and counting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's seven months into Annie's pregnancy and yet somehow they still manage to be absolutely adorable...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the only chapter ever written under the influence of alcohol. cuz when drunk i turn into a hopeless romantic. damn you, college...
> 
> Do not worry, it was edited many a time while i was sober so i didn't just write and post, there was a little bit of thought that went into it in between. Come to think of it, i wrote all of like 3 sentences while under the influence...

“Jeff? Honey? Can you wake up please??” He kept his eyes closed. He didn’t want to get up. No, no, no, no, no it was wayyy too early for this. He felt something tapping on his shoulder, and the sound of Annie’s voice, which in any other circumstance would have been the best thing to grace his ears, called out to him once again. 

“Honey?” 

He could not believe he was about to do this. Jeff turned around and blindly reached out in front of him, his hand eventually making contact with the bump on Annie’s belly. As soon as he felt it, his eyes opened. Even at this time of night, the miracle of another human being growing inside the woman he loved was too much for him, and he was slave to her demands. He pulled in closer, moving his hands up and down her side, as his eyes moved from his future child up to the eyes of his wife. 

He tried to manage a “Hmmm?” without sounding too grumpy, or tired, or anything else because she was carrying another person so the least he could do was appease whatever ungodly request she could throw his way. 

“Can I get you anything, Milady?” he inquired, now almost completely together as he blinked repeatedly. 

She looked like she regretted waking him up. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have woken you. Never mind.”

He inched even closer to her, enough for a whisper. “You already know the drill, I’m not going back to sleep until you get what you need. I’ll stay up all night if I have to.” He held his hand up to his forehead in a lazy salute: “Awaiting orders, general.”

She smiled at him tiredly and moved her hand to his cheek, gently massaging his 2 day-old stubble. 

“What do you call that thing where you put the chicken patty in the middle of a double cheeseburger?”

“The GangBang???”

“Yeah, that one. Could you…”

She didn’t need to finish the sentence. Jeff turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling, moaning playfully. Annie pulled herself next to him, maneuvering the baby bump to nestle up to him as her hand draped across his stomach. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him.

“Pleeeeeeaseeeee?”

“You’re giving me Disney eyes, aren’t you?”

“How can you tell?”

“Because you don’t need to see the Disney face to feel its wrath,” he teased as he stroked her hair. 

“Can you look at me anyways?”

“Why would I submit myself to that kind of mind control?”

“But I loooove the face you make when you see it!”

He sighed, because as exasperated as he was, he could not help it if she was adorable. He turned to her, her eyes and nose mere inches from his. She could make a Buckingham Guard break character with that stare, he thought. It didn’t help that her proximity to him made the look super-effective. He couldn’t help but feel his face contort into a smile. She grinned and her eyes somehow got wider. Like that was even possible.

“Theere it isss!” She cooed.

“You know, I would have gotten the food for you no matter what, you don’t need to make the face.”

She smiled knowingly. “I know. I choose to make this face.”

He laughed. “Nothing’s more dangerous than a woman knowing she has power,” He said as he kissed her and turned to get out of bed in search of sweatpants. He felt her arm tug on his shoulder before he got out though. 

“Thank you for doing this,” she said sincerely. He turned back to her. 

“No need to thank me, I know what I signed up for. At least this craving is 24 hour drive thru-accessible. And in our zip code.”

She lets out an exaggerated sigh and a chuckle, “Gee, you ask for an out-of-town Pizza one time, and your husband holds it over you for eternity…”

He grabbed her hand, and kissed it before lifting himself out of bed.  
“Its’ okay, the interstate was pretty serene at… 4 am. I’ll be back in 10.”

Fifteen minutes later, he walked back into the apartment to see Annie curled up on the couch, asleep with some infomercial playing on the TV. He put the bag and his half empty travel mug on the counter, and sat next to her. 

“Honey?” he said as he tapped her shoulders ever so lightly. 

She stirred, and her eyes opened slightly to see him. “Hey you,” she mumbled with a half-smile. 

“What are you doing out of bed?”

“I…wanted to wait up for you, that’s all.”

He couldn’t help but smile.

“Well, you should go back to bed.”

“But-but I feel bad for making you get u-“

“Annie, you’re carrying a person in your belly. You don’t owe me anything,” he countered before she could finish. 

“Well, it’s almost 5 in the morning anyways, so I figured I’d stay up. Maybe watch the sunrise?”

He turned off the TV and opened a window. It was still dark but the clouds in the distance were transitioning from black to navy blue, which meant the sun was around 10 minutes or so from peeking over the horizon and illuminating Greendale. 

“I’ll watch with you.”

“But don’t you want to go exercise?” 

He shrugged. “I can take a day. Maybe I’ll sneak a run in when you take that post-dinner nap.”

They sat facing the window, Jeff’s hand on her knee and her hands wrapped around his arm. They small talked for a few minutes, about how because of her condition Annie started working at 1 some days which meant she would probably go back to sleep once he left for work. They caught each other up on what the rest of the study group were up to; Abed was working in for the Greendale News, writing scripts for the evening broadcasts and teaching a TV production class at GCC. Shirley and Britta were both still in Denver, Britta had somehow gotten a job as a counselor at a local high school, while Shirley had started up her own catering business which was starting to get off the ground and make some good profit. And Troy? Hell if they knew. Last time they checked, he was living in Hawai’i recording a Rap EP with some Swedish guy named Ludwig. The sun eventually peaked out from behind the horizon, and a golden light spilled over the landscape and through the window. 

“This is his first sunrise”, she whispered sentimentally, hand on her bump as they stared out the window. 

“How do you know it’s a he?” Jeff questioned. 

“Mother’s intuition” was the obvious answer. “Plus, I got a fifty fifty chance of nailing it.”

He smiled. “You’re going to make a hell of a mother, you know that?”

“Coming from soon to be the world’s best dad, that means a lot” she responded. 

“No, I mean it. And I invented sarcasm, hun. I can sense it a mile away.”

“Then you’d know that I mean it too, so either you’re full of it or you’ve gotten rusty,” she leaned forward and pressed her nose on his shoulder. 

“So humor me… How can I be a great dad when I didn’t have a great dad? Or even a good dad. Or a dad at all…”

“Jeff?”

He sighed. “I guess…I get scared sometimes. I feel like I’ll have nothing to go off of; no role model. Like I’m going to be that cynical and jaded father who scars his kids and ends up paying for their therapy in 20 years.”

“Jeff. Look at me.” He slowly turned to her, and meets her gaze. 

“I love you. I love you more than anything else in the world, okay?” He nodded.

“And do you know why I fell in love with you?”

“My stunning good looks?”

She hit him softly. “No…well, I mean it didn’t hurt, but that’s not the point. I fell in love with you because no matter how much you would try to hide it, you care so much for other people. Remember when you helped Pierce reconnect with his ex-stepdaughter? Or when you gave Ben a place to live while he got back on his feet? Or when you helped Shirley in Court when Pierce and she were fighting over their business? Yeah, sometimes you did stuff with ulterior motives, but most of the time you didn’t. And this isn’t even counting all the times you stood up for ME when I was too afraid to do it myself… The important thing is, you’re not your dad. And the fact that you’re even worried about these sorts of things proves that you’re not. Plus, who am I to judge? It’s not like I came from a stable household either…”

He chuckled. “We’re a mess, aren’t we?”

“This baby isn’t gonna know what hit him.”

“Or her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting a lot of questions about the gangbang sandwich... haha it seemed like the perfect marriage of a ridiculous midnight craving and something that's just delicious regardless. if you haven't tried one, ask your local McDonalds if the gangbang is right for you. then go running or something cuz it's got the calories of a tub of lard.


	3. It's Only Nine Months In Movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie wakes Jeff up in the middle of the night again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a delay, and sorry this chapter is so short! I will be the first to admit i am so terrifyingly out of my depth when it comes to this chapter, i know absolutely nothing about pregnancy, babies, deliveries, or anything even remotely related. I wrote this chapter probably 2 weeks ago with the intention of making it longer buuut i have hit a major writers block. Feeling defeated, i basically just decided to make this a short chapter and post what i have. This is the first chapter that i'm actually writing as i go along, instead of writing a work in its entirety and posting it on a schedule soo all in all kinda a new experience. i'll try to get more up soon though!

“So do you think tonight’s going to be the night?”

She looked back at him as she got into bed and shrugged, “No, not yet. We’re getting close, but… I’d say next week is more realistic. So you can stop sleeping in your street clothes, because we’re not going to be rushing to the hospital.”

He smirked. Only Annie would be due for a baby any day yet still be concerned over what Jeff wore to bed, even if already being dressed would be extremely time-effective in the case that today WAS the night she had their child. 

“What, so a guy can’t look good while he sleeps?” He chided at his wife, now under the covers and maneuvering herself into a comfortable position, not always an easy task when carrying a person inside of you.

“Jeff, it’s the one time of day where you aren’t supposed to look good, now get changed and get into bed. And get in BELOW the sheets, while you’re at it. Fifty bucks says the baby’s not coming tonight.”

He returned with a simple “You’re lucky you’re 9 months along and I love you, cuz if not I’d totally take you up on that” before grabbing a pair of pajama pants and t shirt and going to the bathroom to wash up. He had closed the bathroom door and was about to unbutton his shirt when he realized he’d forgotten his phone. Frightened at the prospect of having to suffer through a trip to the bathroom without Candy Crush, he doubled back and went back out the door to his night stand. He looked over at Annie who had already fallen fast asleep in the ten second span that he was gone. Jeff chuckled to himself, and lay down over his blanket, falling asleep in his street clothes. 

A few hours later, he felt her tapping on his shoulder. 

“Jeff? Can you wake up please??” 

He grumbled and came to, rubbing his eyes and cracking his back as he turned to her. It was craving time, and he knew the drill. 

“Where do you need me to go? McDonalds? Taco Bell? Wendy’s?” He paused for a second before flashing a sly, yet tired smile and slid closer to Annie. "Are your pregnancy hormones in the mood again?" 

She did find it adorable that Jeff had actually taken a quick liking to pregnancy sex, but this was certainly not the time. 

“Jeff, I think I owe you fifty bucks…”

His look of arousal and mischief quickly turned into one of confusion.

"I'm going into labor"

His eyelids burst open like the blinds in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, and he shot out of bed over to her side, helping her up. 

“Is your…. Did your, uh…” he stammered. She looked up at him, evidently entertained by his discomfort for the terminology of what was going on below the equator.  
“No, Jeff my water hasn’t broke yet but I can tell it’s not too far off. By the way, good call not changing,” she teased as she tapped her hand against his rumpled button down.  
“Yeah, don’t remind me” he quipped as he helped her out the door to the car. By the door was a bag he had prepped for this night, complete with food, change of clothes, and a towel.

“Towel?” Annie had asked weeks earlier when he’d been putting the emergency bag together.

“Annie, I love you, but…” He pointed outside towards his car “Leather seats…” He explained unabashedly, complete with that raised eyebrow and sly smirk that only he could pull off without looking like a total prick.

The thought brought a smile to Annie’s face as well as a much needed distraction from the contortions and pressure building up inside her. Aside from his not wanting a mess in his car, Jeff had been in complete control of the situation for the past few weeks. Every night he slept with one eye open essentially, ready to spring up and get her to the hospital at a moment’s notice. His assertiveness and preparedness was definitely showing itself now, as he rushed her through the apartment lobby and out to the lot, where the car was already on and waiting in front of the door, much to Annie’s surprise. 

The receptionist got out of the driver’s seat of the car, and Jeff thanked the man, handing him a couple of unreadable bills as the man made his way back inside. He must’ve seen the look of bewilderment on her face as he opened the passenger seat, laying out the towel and helping Annie in. “I…may have given the receptionist the spare key to my Lexus and bribed him to pull my car around when you went into labor.” In any other situation, she would've died laughing at his precaution that saved them all of 30 seconds. 

“Wait, how did you…” 

“Had a text template prepared”, he responded as he slid in the open door on the driver’s side. She nodded, smiling but still trying to breathe like she was taught in their birthing classes, staring straight forward. 

He looked over at her. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine, it’s just that there’s a person about to…..peak out from underneath my curtains, if you know what I mean.”

He did. “Let’s go have a baby,” he said before putting the car in gear and pulling onto the street.


	4. It's Only Nine Months In Movies (pt. II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Annie en route to the hospital, you know the rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another short chapter guys! this is kinda an unofficial part 2 to the previous chapter, so they're kinda like 1 chapter together? idk, that made sense in my head. Maybe go skim Ch. 3 before giving this one a read?

“Jeff? Honey?? What the hell was that sound???”

He felt the car begin to slow down and gradually tilt itself towards the driver side before looking over at the soon-to-be mother of his child, whose face had morphed into a twisted concoction of horror, anger, and…you know…. birthgiving. 

He frantically turned his head back to the dash of his Lexus, suddenly noticing a red light blinking with fervor. 

“Okay, um… don’t shoot the messenger but I think we have a… hmm what’s a good way to say this… flat tire?”

She didn’t say a word… her face was really all he needed to see. It was the human face’s equivalent to DEFCON 1 which was, as it turned out, the worst DEFCON. 

“FLAT??? I thought you changed all the tires?? You… you… thought of everything, the towel, the text to the hotel clerk, the group text to our friends to meet us at the hospital?? I can’t, I can’t…” She was panting desperately now, digging her nails into the leather seats of his Lexus which on any other occasion would have made him wince. But he had other things to take care of; He’d gotten his panic out of the way, but it was time to act. Jeff took Annie’s hand into his, massaging the back of it with the tips of his fingers as he dialed his phone with the other. 

“Annie, please relax for me?? I’m calling an ambulance right now; everything is going to be just fine… Yes, hello? Hi, we’re stranded on I-55 with a flat tire and my wife is in labor… What was that? Has she had any contractions yet? Uhhhh, no I don’t thin-AGGGHHHHHH!”

He let out a howl as her hand constricted around his instantly, cutting off his bloodstream as she let out a painful, blood boiling shreik.

“Is it too late to change my answer?” He quipped through gritted teeth, as Annie held onto his most-certainly-fractured hand for dear life. But he had to fight through. He HAD to. So, he told the 911 operator which exit they were nearest to and turned on his hazard lights, before turning his full and undivided attention on Annie. He needed to make sure she was okay. He NEEDED to. 

“Annie? Babe???” 

She was breathing hastily, chest and body heaving as her eyes stared a million miles into the distance as every one of her worst fears seemed to have been realized. 

“It’s going to be okay, do you understand me?” He asked, doing his best to sound like he also wasn’t trying to convince himself as well. 

“You think so?” 

The look in her eyes as she glanced over at him sent chills down his spine… How in the hell did this happen? On this night of ALL NIGHTS?? Fate must have been playing some sort of cruel trick on him. At the very least this was a nightmare. A vivid, engaging, stupidly realistic nightmare. 

He put his hand on her belly and kissed her on her cheek, which momentarily calmed her. 

“Jeff, thank you so much… I love you”

It’s amazing what those 3 words could do to a conversation. Suddenly, they weren’t stranded on a highway. They were alone under a blanket in Troy and Abed’s pillow fort. They were sitting side by side at a hotel bar. They were platonically shoulder-holding outside the Dean’s press conference during the ACB scare. They were in a hot air balloon. And now that hot air balloon was popping… Wait, what? That pop was waaay too real to be imagined.

“Jeff, I think my water just broke…”

He snapped out of his trance. 

“You can NOT be serious…” he mutters.

“Well, at least we have a towel,” Annie offered as some sort of false glimmer of hope, painstakingly trying to be nonchalant about the aspect of their child being born on a highway. He turned to her once again, this time resting a hand on her belly. 

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re going to be fine, you know. One day we’ll look back on this day and laugh, well maybe we won’t laugh per say but we’ll look back on this day as the day we welcomed our   
kid into the world and simultaneously became the world’s most badass parents.”

She laughed a little bit, wiping away a tear.

“You know, five years ago when we met, this is the last place I ever expected to find us… I mean my first thought when you walked into the Study Room was ‘something doesn’t feel right about this guy…’ Then again, what did I know? I was just some tight-wound teenager who needed to do everything perfectly and didn’t care about much else.”

He breathed out a laugh. “And I was a disgraced lawyer who was trying to get a certain 18 year old to stop asking questions so I could go back to being a fake Spanish tutor…”

“I never thought in a million years I’d ever be married to and pregnant with the baby of the guy who showed up late to his own Spanish Study Session…”

He smiled softly.

“Your point?”

She returned the smile. “All I’m saying is I’m glad it turned out this way…”

“Me too.”

She looked down longingly at his free hand. “I’m sorry about the death grip…”

He tried to hide his wince. “It’s no problem. Didn’t even hurt. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

“So you wouldn’t mind if I held it again?” She asked while pulling out the doe eyes.

“Of course not. Just… promise not to kill it?” 

She smiled. “Of course.”

Jeff once again intertwined his fingers with hers and held firmly, content and almost forgetting about their predicament until Annie reflexively squeezed the life out of his hand once again as another contraction hit. 

If it wasn’t broken before it definitely was now, he thought as he writhed in pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for being patient on this one! i know i've been away from this project a while and i've done a buuuunch of other little (and one not so little) side projects and such, buut hopefully this is enough to get me back into the swing of things! hope you all enjoyed!


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